


Diner

by Comatosejoy



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Angst, F/M, diner au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-09
Updated: 2020-06-18
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:48:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23567098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Comatosejoy/pseuds/Comatosejoy
Summary: "The food at the Sannin Diner was atrocious. Its coffee was weak and the staff was rude. The leather of the booths was torn and the buzz of its 24-Hour sign was distractingly loud. It was Shikamaru’s favorite place in the world."Modern AU, ShikaTema angst.
Relationships: Nara Shikamaru/Temari
Comments: 10
Kudos: 41





	1. Chapter 1

The food at the Sannin Diner was atrocious. Its coffee was weak and the staff was rude. The leather of the booths was torn and the buzz of its 24-Hour sign was distractingly loud. It was Shikamaru’s favorite place in the world. He had discovered it eight years ago when he’d been a freshman at the nearby university and had occupied the corner booth of the establishment nearly every night since. 

It’s where he took girls on first dates. He’d study their expressions. Did they comment on the grimey counters? The roach motels? How it smelled like cigarettes despite the “No Smoking” sign in the window? Did they mention that their french fries were cold and their drink order was wrong? It’s probably why he rarely got second dates and almost never got thirds. 

It’s where he had started outlining his dissertation last year, chain smoking cigarettes (something the owner allowed as long as he put them out if any real customers came in) at three in the morning while the owner played high-stakes poker with her buddies in the back as the waitress tried to get her to, “drink something that isn’t classified by the fire department as an accelerant, _for God’s sake_.” 

And it’s where Temari found him at seven in the evening on a Saturday. She was dressed like she’d been at her firm all day, in a suit and viciously sharp stilettos. Of course she’d be working on the weekend. As per usual, he was the only person in the shitty little greasy spoon. She made a beeline to him and sat. He lowered the book he was reading lazily. 

“What brings you to my office?” Shikamaru asked. They’d been friends for years, ever since they’d met in an undergrad political economy class that they’d both taken only because it seemed interesting. She’d been a senior and he a freshman. They made an unlikely pair but were soon meeting outside of class to study and eventually, they found that they just enjoyed each other’s company without the pretense of discussing Marxism. 

“They serve alcohol here, right?” Temari asked, waving at the waitress. “Can I get a vodka soda? And a bourbon for him, neat, please.” 

He liked that she knew his favorite drink. He didn’t linger on that thought long, though. He had heard an edge in her voice. There were bags under her bloodshot eyes and her makeup was smudged a little. Something was wrong, and not just because she’d willingly come there despite once telling him that she would rather eat whatever moldy monstrosity was in the back of her middle brother’s fridge than spend time at the Sannin.

“Was there a setback on making partner?” Shikamaru asked. It’s why he saw her so infrequently these days. Ever since she’d landed her position at the large firm, she’d been working diligently to get the attention of the partners. So far she’d only really gotten the attention of the partner’s son, who had drunkenly asked Temari out at the office Christmas party a couple years ago. To Shikamaru’s deep chagrin, Temari had acquiesced after the man’s fifth or sixth try. 

Shikamaru did not like him. First of all, he could never get a straight answer as to what he actually did for a living and Shikamaru had begun to suspect that Temari’s boyfriend didn’t have a real job. And why would he, when his daddy could pay for everything. Second of all, he was an asshole. He was braggadocious. He talked over people. He always had one too many buttons undone on his shirt. And Shikamaru had once watched him try to tell Sakura, a medical doctor, that women don’t actually need a doctor present when they give birth. And third of all, he was dating Temari, something that Shikamaru had been wanting to do for a while now. 

The waitress set down a drink in front of Temari and one in front of Shikamaru. She took a sip, making a face as she did. 

“This is white rum.” 

“Oh, yeah, that’ll happen,” he said fondly. He considered the two women who were constantly working at the Sannin--the waitress, Shizune, and the owner, Tsunade, to be family at this point. Being the only regular besides Sakura, he’d gotten to know them quite well. They’d even offered him a job, because, as Tsunade put it, “you’re always here anyway.” He had turned her down, though. He was getting his doctorate and that was almost more work than he cared for.

“I’ll never understand why you spend all your time here.” Temari said, taking another drink and grimacing a bit. “At least I’m getting my money’s worth. This is basically a glass of rubbing alcohol.” 

Shikamaru grinned and leaned over to taste her drink from her straw. She didn’t protest. She’d never been fussy about sharing straws or silverware. It was a product of growing up with two younger brothers. 

“Oh, yeah. Looks like they must have stopped watering down the liquor,” he said amusedly. 

She blinked at him. She couldn’t tell if he was joking or not. After another a beat, her brow furrowed once again with worry. She dug into her purse and produced a manila envelope.

“My boyfriend has been cheating on me,” she said, opening the folder. “I know it’s crazy but I got suspicious and I did some snooping around his apartment--” 

“Totally healthy and normal,” Shikamaru cut in. She ignored him and continued. 

“And you know when you pull a thread on a sweater and the whole thing comes apart?” Temari produced screenshots from a few different dating apps and social media sites, all time-stamped within the last week and active, belonging to her significant other. 

“Why would he give you a key to his place if he had evidence just laying around?” Shikamaru asked. Something made his pulse quicken. It was hope. He tried to extinguish it. After she broke up with this idiot, he’d have to wait a while before asking her out so as not to be a rebound for her. And who knows if some other asshole would come around and get the opportunity to ask her out before he was able to shoot his shot. 

“Well, it wasn’t just laying around,” she admitted. “It was pretty well-hidden, and on a laptop I didn’t even know he had.” 

“I’m assuming this laptop was password protected?” Shikamaru asked, already knowing the answer. Temari nodded. 

“So you must have made Ino hack into it for you,” he said, filling in a few blanks as he glanced at the damning print-outs. Typical fuck-boy stuff. Confirmation of hookups. A dick pic that, thank God, Temari had blurred. Shikamaru still shuffled it away uncomfortably. 

“Don’t be ridiculous. She volunteered to do it.”

“And now you can’t break up with him without admitting that you tore his apartment apart, found his secret sex laptop, and got my best friend to break into it?” Shikamaru guessed, smirking. The hope bubbled a little too close to the surface of his chest. 

“It’s not that,” she said, and that caught him off-guard. “I’d like to think I’m a damn good lawyer. I could make a case to break up with him with even the flimsiest of evidence.” 

“So what’s the problem, besides the fact that this whole situation adds a bullet point to the list of reasons as to why you have trust issues?” 

Temari flinched a little and Shikamaru felt bad about what he’d said. It was a tough subject for her, stemming from the real piece of work that had been her father. He realized that he probably could be a little more compassionate, maybe offer her condolences or a shoulder to cry on. But she had never been one to cry and he had never been one to comfort. And if she wanted someone to soothe her, she’d still be with Ino, anyway. He thought he was doing a good job of not looking positively elated, though, and that was a step in the right direction. 

“He’s my boss’s son, first of all. And don’t start about how you told me not to get involved with him for that very reason.” 

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. He wasn’t above a _told you so_ and she’d just stolen it from him. 

“And fuck, Shikamaru, I’m almost thirty. I have a timeline. I have a five-year plan that involves having children. Did I just waste two years of my life on this guy? I don’t want to start dating again.” 

“That’s better than getting married, sinking ten years of your life into him, and discovering his infidelity when you have shared assets. Especially since you both know the best divorce lawyers in the city.” 

She took a long pull from her drink and wrinkled her nose. The glass was nearly empty and the alcohol gave her an attractive flush. Her facial muscles had relaxed a little. Shikamaru swirled his bourbon around in his glass. He’d been nursing it. Ever since his attraction to her had gone past the “I’m a 19-year-old kid and have an unrealistic crush on a beautiful woman in law school” phase and into the “we’re both well-educated, employed adults and it could actually work between us” phase, he’d been watching how much he drank around her. He didn’t want to say the wrong thing, and he certainly didn’t want to flirt with her when she had a boyfriend.

The way she was avoiding his gaze and remaining silent worried him. 

“What? You’re not thinking of staying with him, are you?” 

She didn’t answer and instead polished off her drink. 

“What do your brothers think about that? That you’re not planning on leaving someone who has had sex with--” Shikamaru looks at the papers in front of him. “--at least seven women that you know of?” 

“They don’t know about this and you aren’t going to tell them,” she said with an air of finality. 

“Like hell. Why did you even come here tonight?” Shikamaru spat. “It sounds like you already know what you want to hear anyway.” 

She had a steely expression on her face as she shoved the papers back into the envelope. He couldn’t look at her. He stared at the wall to his right as he heard the click-clack of those ridiculous fucking shoes against the linoleum and the bell on the door jingle as she pushed it open and walked out. 

“Goddamn it!” Shikamaru said, bringing his closed fist down to pound the table. 

Shizune carefully approached his table. “Everything okay?”


	2. Chapter 2

Before her brother, Gaara, got treatment, he’d been a fucking wreck. He’d been violent and unpredictable. He’d threatened to kill their middle brother more than once. She’d been scared, genuinely, of what he’d do. What he’d do to her, what he’d do to Kankurō, what he’d do to himself. When they’d finally got him on medication and he began acting like his old self again, Temari was glad she’d never cut ties. Back when she was in law school and got a call from the police station that she had to come pick him up, sometimes her friends would ask why she kept bailing him out over and over. 

“Our parents have both passed away. Kankurō and I are all he has,” she would say. Is it so bad to be loyal to the few people you allow into your life? 

And now Gaara was her favorite person in the world. He was heavily involved in the community, had a great job in politics, and hadn’t had an episode in years. It goes to show that people deserve second chances.

“Why did you even come here tonight?” Shikamaru asked when she had sat in his booth and laid out everything she’d discovered that week. He had a good point. She should have known what he’d say. 

In truth, she hadn’t made a decision about whether to leave her boyfriend. Why had she come there? She thought it had been to get an objective opinion. Suddenly that seemed so stupid.

Her face had stung with embarrassment as she realized that she’d come in expecting not to leave alone. She was feeling reckless. Hurt. And what, was she going to ask Shikamaru to be her rebound? Did she want him to say _Oh, Temari, don’t worry, you’ll never have to waste time on another asshole again. Let’s go back to my place. I’ll clear a drawer for your things. Forget that guy_? 

She felt a seering shame and put on her best poker face. Shikamaru deserved better than her to come in here, guns blazing, looking for a fuck or a fight in equal measure. She had left the booth with her dignity in tact--barely--and held the tears until she was in the backseat of a taxi heading to her apartment. 

In that same booth a week later, Shikamaru set down his book and opened the messaging app on his phone. 

“I’m sorry,” he typed out before shaking his head and deleting it. He took a sip of his tepid coffee and made a face. He tried again. 

“Can we talk?” He didn’t press send. He exited out of the app when he heard the bell of the door, signaling that someone had entered the diner. 

Two people, he realized, as he saw Ino and Sakura approach him. Ino sat in front of him and Sakura continued to the back with a polite wave, no doubt looking for Tsunade. Though she’d long ago stopped practicing medicine, Tsunade’s recommendation was the reason Sakura had gotten her residency at the most prestigious hospital in the city. 

“Have you talked to Temari?” 

He froze up. “Not since she came in here last week, talked at me for half an hour, got mad at me, and stormed out.” 

“She hasn’t answered my texts. Her boyfriend is coming home from his trip today. I’m dying to know what’s going to happen.” 

“Why don’t you go to her place and find out?” 

Ino narrowed her eyes. “Are you just trying to get rid of me?”

“No, I love having you around. Let’s talk about Temari and the boyfriend she’ll never dump some more.” 

“You don’t have to sulk so much, it’s not very becoming.” 

Shikamaru wasn’t interested in this discussion. He picked up his book and resumed reading, lighting a cigarette as he did. He had hoped that the fumes would drive her away, but she continued to sit there. 

“So she came to see you right after she found out her boyfriend was cheating,” Ino said, running her finger over the marred surface of the table.

“Are you guys talking about Temari?” Sakura asked, sitting next to Shikamaru and snatching the cigarette out of his mouth. She ground it out in the ashtray, and Shikamaru rolled his eyes.

“Obnoxious,” he muttered, not bothering to pull another out to light, knowing that Sakura would keep going until he was out. 

“Yes! Have you heard anything?” Ino asked, combing through her long, pale hair with her fingers. 

“Only what you’ve told me,” Sakura said. 

“It was wild. I tried to get her to throw all his stuff off the balcony.” 

“Smart, commit property damage against someone whose daddy is a torts expert,” Shikamaru commented sarcastically, barely looking up from his book. 

Ino rolled her eyes. “You know, that’s almost verbatim what Temari said.”

________

Temari had no illusions about the professional world she inhabited. She didn’t doubt that her boyfriend had grown up watching his father, her boss, having not-so-secret affairs with the young paralegal, the pretty secretary, maybe the odd maid or two. Broadly speaking, there weren’t a lot of saints in her profession, and certainly none that made a lot of money. Is cheating really such a vile act when your job, by its very nature, requires you to set aside your morals in favor of codes and precedents? 

Just last week, her colleague had won a case against a drunk driver who hit a family. Only the mother of the family had survived, and she sued the driver for all he was worth. The driver had a child with leukemia and, without financial support, would be another victim of this tragedy. When her colleague had won the case, Temari had gone out for drinks with the firm despite knowing the casualty of the win was an innocent kid. A sense of fairness is the sort of thing that they beat out of you in law school. It doesn’t matter what’s fair. The only thing that matters is, if you’re a good lawyer, you can grab the law by its edges and stretch it over your client. 

Shikamaru had, of course, been incensed when she told him about the case. Though she usually chalks up that sort of reaction to naivety, she didn’t think Shikamaru was capable of being naive. 

“It won’t make her feel any better,” he had said, and she knew he was speaking from experience. A year after they’d met, his father and Ino’s father had been driving somewhere together when someone blew past a red light while texting and smashed into them. Neither had survived, and Shikamaru spent some time looking into different avenues of retribution, but in the end decided not to pursue it; nothing he could do would bring his dad back. 

She often thinks that this was the start of them becoming truly close, because while he was looking into tort law, she was taking a torts class (as anyone in their first year of law school does), and they’d spend hours looking over her class material together. She had done so well in that particular class that the professor had brought her on as a research assistant, which had been, in part, why she’d gotten hired at her present firm. 

“Maybe not, but she didn’t go to a shrink, she went to a lawyer,” Temari had said brusquely, and Shikamaru had rolled his eyes. She thought he would argue further if it had been her client and not her coworker’s, but he had dropped it and soon they were talking about the progress on his dissertation.

________

She was sitting in her boyfriend’s living room when he returned from his trip. Though it was past seven, she still wore her pumps, her blazer. She looked agitated, but no more than when she was pursuing an angle in a case, and she was reading an email from another firm, one that represents corporations and was far more lucrative than hers, when she heard the door open.

“I didn’t expect you to be waiting for me,” he said, setting his duffle bag on the counter. She quickly closes the email, trying to appear casual. She still wasn’t sure what she should do. She had thought that by seeing him, she would know intuitively what to do. But upon hearing his voice, she made an excuse. 

“Oh, sorry. I was having some mild renovations done on my loft and wanted to stay out of everyone’s way. I’ll get out of your hair.” 

“I wouldn’t have given you a key if you were capable of getting in my hair,” he said pleasantly. “Do you want to go get dinner?” It was moments like that, when he said the exact right thing, that made her question why her friends didn’t like him. 

“I’ve actually got a really big case coming up, I’m going to swing by the office,” Temari said, shoving her papers into her briefcase. She kissed him on the cheek as she left, and hailed a Taxi. 

“Do you know where the Sannin is?” she asked the driver.


End file.
